Dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs can be an uphill battle, especially if your hearing is only just beginning to fail. Many occupations in the military and government service can lead to sudden or gradual hearing loss, but your examination for veteran compensation may not show a sufficient drop in hearing capacity. By understanding a few parts of hearing loss concerns and veteran compensation, you can better understand your rights, situation and ways to push for a reliable source of funding for different types of hearing aids.

Understand Your Occupational Hazards

Many, but not all, government and military occupations have reasonable occupational hearing hazards. Some are certainly more extreme than others, which may lead to a claim denial during your compensation examination.

Occupations such as welding, engineering or artillery are some of the most infamous hearing hazards in the military. Any servicemember can understand that loud clashes of metal, the sound of heavy machinery's constant whine or the explosions of heavy mortars can take a toll on hearing, but a veteran may incorrectly assume that their hearing problems are non-existent in comparison.

True enough, your hearing threats may be considerably weaker than the 'big boom' of some occupations, but the noise may be far more damaging than if you hadn't entered service at all. Radio, signal and other communications personnel, for example, may deal with a loud of loud alarms and screeching communications feedback over time. It is incorrect and sometimes dangerous to assume that these problems are lesser or non-threatening.

High-pitched noises may cause completely different severe problems. Just because the threats lack the assumed violence and percussion of explosions and heavy machinery does not mean they aren't dangerous. Such high-pitched sounds may be far more damaging, especially if the threat is constant and in close proximity to a person's ears.

Getting Through The Compensation Interview

When asked about your occupational hazards and hearing problems, leave nothing to assumption. It is not your job to decide whether certain parts of your occupation are worth considering or not. Such decisions are complex and require specialized medical training that is relevant to not just hearing loss but also occupational hazards for hearing loss.

Try to detail every sound that you can remember that may be an issue. If you worked on an aircraft carrier, the sound of aircraft taking off or performing constant maintenance could have a heavy impact on you, even if you were wearing proper protective equipment (PPE) to reduce hearing loss. PPE reduces danger, but does not prevent it.

If you had to sleep in quarters near loud noises that were a constant part of your hearing experience, note that this is relevant as well. Your goal isn't to justify a high or low hearing condition, and you shouldn't feel that you're inconveniencing medical staff by explaining every little hearing threat. It's their job to examine you for future documentation as well as current compensation chances, and it's your duty to yourself to protect your future best interests.

Contact a specialist, like Audiologists Northwest, providing hearing aids and hearing loss assistance to look through pricing plans and to get insider knowledge on how to work with Veterans Affairs for your hearing compensation and assistance.